New Year's Eve.
Seiji, Little Shi, and Ling Yang were watching television together by the kotatsu.
On the television, a middle-aged man wearing bright red clothes and strange gold accessories with exaggerated makeup danced in a girlish style while singing a cheerful song … Although he was full of flaws, he surprisingly wasn't annoying at all. In fact, he seemed quite interesting.
After this rather unique male singer finished singing, the male and female hosts said some useless things to each other. Then, it was the middle-aged woman wearing plain Sakura Island attire … whoops, the female singer's turn. Behind her, a group of handsome men also wearing Sakura Island attire acted as her dancers.
The female singer sang quite well, but the dancing of these handsome men seemed rather awkward, making it difficult to listen to the song properly.
After that, it was the turn of a beautiful boy idol group. They sang quite emotionally at the beginning, but when they all took off their jackets to reveal the tank tops they were wearing underneath, the scene suddenly changed into a passionate song and dance …
Various singers and groups took turns performing, and their singing continued to echo throughout the living room.
Apart from watching television, Seiji also surfed the internet and chatted on his cell phone.
He made plans with Chiaki and Mika to go together tomorrow morning for New Year's greetings.
It was getting late.
Little Shi made some soba noodles, and the three of them ate together by the kotatsu, slurping on the noodles.
After finishing the noodles, it was almost twelve o'clock in the morning.
The television was showing various tourist attractions that were counting down to the New Year, and the local people were happily preparing to welcome in the New Year.
Everyone had smiles on their faces as they prepared to say goodbye to the past year and hope that the New Year would be even better.
At this moment, Seiji sensed something and turned around to see that his adopted younger sister was looking in his direction.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing …" Shika Kagura lowered her head slightly. "I just feel like … I'm dreaming."
"Eh?"
"Meeting Brother Seiji … staying here like this … feels like a dream," she muttered softly.
Would she wake up from this dream after the New Year's bell rang?
Would she suddenly open her eyes and discover that she was still living in the same room as before, all by herself?
Perhaps all of this was nothing more than a delusion …
A large hand appeared in her field of vision.
She looked up to see her adopted older brother smiling gently and extending his hand in her direction.
She blinked.
He raised his hand and slowly placed it on the other party's palm.
His hand closed over hers.
"I also feel like I'm dreaming to have an adopted sister like you." Seiji smiled. "But this isn't a dream … this is proof."
He squeezed her hand a little harder.
Soft, warm, and solid.
Shika Kagura also shook her hand.
It was thick, warm, and solid.
The feeling was so clear.
The uneasiness that suddenly emerged in her heart disappeared, and the girl smiled.
The two of them stared at each other … and the atmosphere became a little ambiguous.
Pa!
A sudden voice broke the atmosphere.
It was Little Ling Yang.
With a confused look on her face, her little head fell onto the table with a thud.
"Meow …" It gave a cute yawn.
Seiji and Shika Kagura were rendered speechless.
The two of them loosened their grip and retracted their hands.
Seiji gave a dry cough.
Shika Kagura's face reddened slightly.
"Little Ling Yang, would you like to go to sleep first?" Seiji asked.
"Er …" The little girl regained her senses when she heard this question.
She slowly raised her head and rubbed her eyes.
"No … I want to sleep together …"
"Then try your best to hold on a little longer."
"Okay …"
Ling Yang slapped her own face and forced herself to stay awake.
After a while, the countdown finally came.
"Ten, nine, eight …" The television kept changing scenes, showing everyone in Sakura Island counting down in unison.
"Six, five, four …" Seiji, Little Shi, and Ling Yang also began counting down.
"Three! Two!! One!!! "They reached the end of the countdown.
* Boom … * Suddenly, they heard a muffled sound.
At the same time, they felt something invisible swiftly pass by them.
Their surroundings suddenly became dark!
Was this … a power outage!?
"Brother …"
"It's so cold …"
"What's the matter?" Seiji immediately cast [Astral Vision] to see through the darkness.
He saw that Little Ling Yang was acting strangely.
She was hugging herself and shivering.
"Ling Yang!?"
Seiji hurriedly got up and walked over to check on the little girl's condition.
He discovered that she had a fever!
Why did this suddenly happen?
Seiji recalled the sound just now and the strange feeling of something passing by him.
What just happened? A spell attack? Was it Akira Mitarai?
No … if it really was Akira Mitarai who attacked, it shouldn't have been like this …
"It's so cold … Brother Harano …" Ling Yang moaned.
No matter what, he needed to do something.
Seiji immediately cast [Beginner-level Healing] on Little Ling Yang.
However, it was useless.
This wasn't an ordinary fever.
Could it be due to the mysterious power? He recalled Amami Mayuzumi's high fever.
Did the strange phenomenon just now have something to do with the mysterious power? Seiji furrowed his eyebrows.
"We need to take her to the hospital immediately." Seiji decisively came to this decision. He then looked towards Little Shi. "You should come as well."
Shika Kagura nodded and looked towards Ling Yang with a worried expression.
The two of them immediately went to put on their outdoor clothes and helped Little Ling Yang put on a cotton-padded jacket.
During this time, Seiji asked Little Shi if she felt anything strange just now. Little Shi told him that she did. She had also heard the sound and felt something sweep past her in an instant.
The fact that the two Spiritual Ability users had the same feeling proved that it wasn't a hallucination.
"Something must have happened just now. It's highly likely that the blackout was caused by it, as was Little Ling Yang's fever," Seiji said.
Shika Kagura nodded in agreement.
Was it some sort of spell? Who cast it? What was the goal?
Could it be another coincidental success of the One Hundred Demons ritual? Or something similar? How large was the area affected?
There were so many questions …
After helping Little Ling Yang put on some clothes, Seiji carried her and left the house together with Little Shi.
It was quite cold outside. There was no moon, and it was completely dark.
Seiji looked towards Uehara's home. He was worried about Mika's condition, so he went to knock on the door.
The door soon opened.
"Seiji …"
"Mika … it's good that you're alright."
"What's the matter with Little Ling Yang?" Mika noticed that there was something off about the little girl's condition.
"She suddenly had a fever. I suspect that it's related to the mysterious power … did you feel anything just now?" Seiji asked in a low voice.
"I faintly felt something sweep past my body, and I even heard a low sound." Mika furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "But mom didn't feel anything at all …"
"That wasn't a hallucination. Little Shi and I both heard and felt it as well. Something definitely happened. It might be a spell or some sort of ritual. It's highly likely that the blackout and Little Ling Yang's fever were all caused by it," Seiji said in a serious tone.
"I don't know who cast it, or where it came from … I'm going to take Little Ling Yang to the hospital together with Little Shi right now. You need to be careful at home, because I don't know if anything else will happen. If anything happens, call me. "
"I can't call." Mika furrowed her eyebrows and raised her cell phone. "There's no signal."
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